Something to Fight For
by Crossfire.Technicalites.x
Summary: The world was in a state of carnage, but for a father and son who happened across a young girl lost in the woods.. could a new life be just what they needed?
1. Fear The Walkers

**Hello! **

This is my most current story, anyone who remembers my Harry Potter story knows I admitted to having a lot of ideas but never having time to write them, but I'm really passionate about this.

I own neither Harry Potter nor Walking Dead, and as much to my knowledge I have not copied any ideas from anyone else's story. Please let me know if you see anything similar :)

Hope you enjoy!

Crossfire. 

* * *

Fear. Fear was all she could feel.

She had run when she was asked to stay and now, she was trapped with no place to go.

The walkers were snarling at her, trying desperately to reach her legs from where they were dangling down from the tree. She had been trapped here for a day, at least. Her throat was burning something fierce from the hot Georgia sun. time was started to run out for her, and she knew it, a distraction was needed, but how? She was too weak to attack the walkers outright, even if she could fashion a weapon from an old branch, and there was no way so would be able to drop down and run away from four walkers when they surrounded the base of the tree.

But maybe... aha! There! Two thick branches crossed each other a little further up the tree, if she was careful, she could tree jump and maybe find her way back to her mom. So, she stood, she got her balance, she knew if she even put one foot wrong, she would be plummeting to the ground and she would definitely be walker bait. One foot above the other, as firm a grip as she could make and… PULL! She had done it! She wanted to scream and shout with joy, but she knew that she would attract more attention than she could deal with right now. Refocusing, she managed to make another two jumps into different trees before she realised the walkers were still following her progress, they were slow she knew, but so was she having to jump from tree to tree, she couldn't risk falling out by going faster, in a pack, 4 though they were, they could swarm her quickly. The distraction was becoming more and more crucial by the minute.

Suddenly, a loud CRACK rang out through the forest, and it sent the walkers stumbling away towards the sound rather than focussing on her, she made another jump through the trees, and another, and another, and finally she was away from any immediate danger.

Taking a quick rest, she observed her surroundings as keenly as she could from high up in the clump of trees, she had managed to get herself into, but at least it was providing her first bit of protection from the sun. she decided she needed to take a chance and jump down a few branches to see what was around the forest floor, she was particularly adept at climbing down trees, her small frame meant that she could scoot around the tree trunk and just balance for a second on branches as the need arose. She noticed a tent laying a few yards away from her tree, it was torn and bloodied, indicating something had gone horribly wrong here. She was about to jump down to investigate when faint snarling met her ears, looking around she was shocked to see a walker hanging from a tree, a rope around its neck and it's bottom half literally gone, torn or eaten away, but if he hung himself and he was already dead, why would the walkers..

'Don't think about it!' she told herself, firmed, double, triple, quadruple checking that the coast was indeed clear from all but the man in the tree she jumped out and ran towards the tent like her life depended on it, which she supposed it did, after all, if she was caught she was a goner.

The girl managed to scavenge a couple of bottles of water and some snacks and she shoved them into a discarded backpack, before she darted back into the trees and got safely off the ground.

Her mom had once taken them to a shelter, a safe haven, and she remembered a lot about the place. Mainly how the staff were with her. She had never met people like those, so kind and caring, they helped get her new clothes and have her food, she remembered how her dad had locked her away, no food, no water, just left her in the dark for two days until her Mom got her out. When they got to the shelter, the staff had given her water to drink and she had guzzled it all down… before sicking it all straight back up. The nurse lady that was seeing to her had comforted her, she remembered how she had cried hysterically, terrified that she would never be able to eat or drink again without being sick. She had cursed her dad, and shouted about how unfair it was that he got to live such a good life all because he beat her and her mom and they were both too scared to fight back so they did everything for him, she had gotten so worked up she was sick again. The nurse had sat on her bed with her, holding a new bottle of water to her lips and saying 'slow sips now, dehydration isn't nice I know but small sips will help more I promise,' remembering that advice, she took small sips now, until a quarter of one bottle had gone, sighing, she sat back and looked through the snacks she had managed to save, she chose a pack of biscuits that were still wrapped up before looking through the rest of the bag. Finding more rope, a flashlight, a sharp knife and a handgun, with extra ammo! She knew that even though it had been dangerous she had made the right decision going for the tent. Deciding then and there to only use the gun in an emergency, she thought back to watching her dad load and shoot guns in the fields of their farm, running away when he caught her and threatened to shoot her with those very same guns. She had been through a lot in her 12 years, everyone underestimated her, but the truth was… she was a survivor, first of abuse, then of the apocalypse, and survive is now exactly what she would do. She was terrified, but fear drove people to do extraordinary things.

* * *

Running was all he seemed to do nowadays, not that he minded really, he was just worried about the boy he was running with, he was only 12, he didn't deserve a life like this.

The man wondered how the world had come to this, to the dead walking the earth.

It was supposed to be a family vacation, except his grandmother, brother and sister all cancelled so it was just him and his son, on a tour across the American states. He'd always wanted to go, as a kid he never got too, and he wanted his son to be old enough to benefit from a trip like this, each state had something to offer. They began in New York, then down to Chicago, Washington, Ohio and Kentucky before heading to Florida via Georgia. That's when the world went to shit. Whist in Kentucky, they had seen an incident at the derby that had given everyone cause for concern. A little boy just stumbled onto the track, he looked sick, really sick and when the cameras closed in on him you could see the sweat from an outrageously high fever, pale skin and blood covering the front of him. A medical standby rushed out to meet him and just as he got five steps away, the boy collapsed into convulsions, before finally laying still. There was so much commotion as EMTs tried to resuscitate him, and just as they were about to give up, the boy opened his eyes, they had gone milky white, and the growl he released was magnified by the microphones attached to the nearby cameras, a paramedic picked the boy up, but he went feral, bit the man's forehead and pulled a chunk away chewing loudly before going back for his neck, it was horrible watching on a big screen, there were other paramedics trying to pull the boy off but they ending up helping the boy pull out the man's neck. And that's when panic kicked in, the crowd had been horrified watching the first bite, but the second spurred them all into action and everyone ran from the stadium. There were initial rumours of it all being fake, but then there were reports of more and more people getting sick, and whatever it was, it was deadly. He took his son and carried on, fully thinking it was just isolated to something in Kentucky, he got them to Georgia but; reports from all over the world came in and by that night, everyone knew and believed the dead were walking, no one knew how it had started, but it was the new reality, a bite was quicker than a scratch, but no matter how you died; you came back.

He knew people wouldn't believe it; they were all pinning their hopes on surviving as long as you weren't injured by one of the creatures. But he had seen the proof, a nursing home that had took him and his son in after they had made their way into Atlanta, the staff there had been posing as gangsters to keep strangers away, he had been there when they got into a fight with a man dressed as a police officer, before that man realised why they wanted guns and he let them keep some. A few nights after they'd got the guns, one of the older residents had died in their sleep, natural causes, there was nothing anyone could have done to prevent it. But before any alarm could be raised the man had reanimated, started to eat another resident, and managed to infect the two others who had lived in the same room and had woken to the snarling sounds and seen the horror. The screaming finally woke the staff, but by then it was too late. The undead spread quickly, and the staff, they couldn't raise their guns on family, so they were swarmed for their hesitancy and they perished quite quickly.

The man managed to get his son out, apparating away to the roof of the apartment complex across the alleyway. He held his son and they both cried for the people they had come to know, he kept his sons head turned away from the carnage, despairing at not being able to save anyone, when all he could see were undead, he sent an apology prayer to those he had known, and bundled his son up to begin apparating out of the city. He scoured every rooftop before he moved on so that he could be certain they would be safe, luckily, he could minimise the typical CRACK that accompanied apparition, so no undead were alerted to their location.

After a night of no sleep so his son could get some, he found a car abandoned, still in good condition and still full of gas, he warded it with everything he had been taught as an Auror that he thought was relevant, and finally they both had a safe place to sleep. He decided that whilst in the city he should look around, try and scavenge more supplies, whilst he could conjure water, food was different. He found a mostly untouched grocery store, he supposed that Atlanta was overrun too quickly to clear out any of the good stores, he had not seen anyone running around the city, that was alive anyway, other than the sheriff from a few nights ago. Shoving anything currently edible into a backpack, he ran back to his son, he didn't see the point of gathering lots, he was going to try and make it to one of the family safe houses, ride out the storm, hopefully have a working floo network so he could get back to his family.

They drove out of the city the next morning, the rolling countryside of Georgia was gorgeous, he could see they would have loved spending time here before going to Florida, they travelled along a highway heading west when they were set upon by a large horde, at least 300 of the undead were flooding around the car, his son was terrified and could not stop the whimpers that were coming out of his mouth which was just egging the creatures on more, they were pressing against each other and banging on the glass of the windows so hard he feared that they would break. Quickly, he threw up a scent rewarding ward, a silencer and a spell that blacked out the windows so that the undead would hopefully lose interest in them. Hours went by before he deemed it safe enough to at least take down the blackout spell, just to make sure they were safe enough to move from the car. His son was asleep and safe, so he carefully exited the vehicle and cast a relatively new spell his sister had managed to get to him, Ostendere quomodo mortuum. It was an edited version of the Hominum revelio spell, and it revealed all living matter for a 5-mile radius, what could he say, his sister was a genius.

The spell was astounding really, it brought up a mini map in front of the caster, showing every landmark in the radius and then it had green dots for humans, blue dots for animals, and red dots for the undead. There was now luckily minimum red dots around, a few in the woods nearby, although he did notice a larger collection of them milling around in a building on a farm around three mile away, he vowed to stay away from that place, there would be no good coming from that place at all. Especially seeing as there was also a high concentration of green in a building pretty much opposite, assuming it was a farm, he wondered how they had survived so long there, the blue dots obviously meant animals so how had the undead not been attracted there? Is that why there were so many in the other building? Had they perhaps trespassed but been caught before they manged to do any harm? But then that led to the question of why they were still, for lack of better terms, alive? He continued scouting out the map, and just as he was about to close it, a single green dot entered to the west side of the radius, then followed by 4 red dots, he hated the idea of anyone trying to survive with those odds, and whilst with it being a single green dot the likelihood of it being an adult was high, he wasn't about to leave another human to die.

Jumping back into the car, he quickly shook his son awake, whilst the car was safe, he wasn't about to leave a twelve year old alone in a car, if he woke up there alone, every instinct that he had was screaming that he would try to find his father, and he would be damned if anything happened to his child.

"C'mon, we have to go" he said

"Mm... dad?" came the mumbled reply.

"Come on, someone's in trouble, wand out"

His son was immediately alert, wand in hand, seeing this reaction filled the man with pride and regret, he wished more than anything his son wasn't having to deal with this, didn't have the battle hardened instincts that he himself had had to have as a child, but he couldn't help being proud of how quickly he had adjusted.

"Like Father like Son" he chuckled bitterly in his mind.

* * *

The girl was tiring, it couldn't be helped, she had been alone for nearly two days, trying to navigate the forest around her whilst still trying to stay up in the trees so she was hidden, but she had amassed more followers, another four walkers were following her footsteps, she knew there was no way to get away from them, the rustling of the trees too loud in the silent forest but there was no other way she could travel especially seeing as the forest was probably littered with traps and ditches she wouldn't see until it was too late, and if Walkers were following, the probability that they'd fall down the same ditch and land on top of her was too high for her to risk if she wanted to get back to her mom. She had tried to get some sleep during the night, using the rope to secure herself to the tree so she didn't fall, but it's hard to sleep in a tree, so she barely settled. Sighing, she decided to have the last of her water, before continuing on, she hoisted herself up, but her foot slipped. And down she fell…

Father and son had made quick work of trekking the two miles to the lone dot, the man had shifted into his Animagus form and carried his son on his back, running towards the forest the fastest he could without throwing his son off him. Upon entering the forest the panther smelt the human before he heard her screams, scrambling to pick up speed and running through the low bushes to his left he burst out through the trees and spotted a young girl, perhaps the same age as his son, clinging from a tree branch about 7 feet from the floor. Underneath her were the four undead he had spotted, desperately clawing at the girl, but she was just out of reach thank god, but if she was any lower, they would be able to grab her and drag her out of the tree. The large panther knelt on the ground, signalling his son to get off his back, before, with a mighty roar, he entered the clearing, knocking all the undead off their feet. His son had been aware enough to climb into a tree and start sending cutting hexes at the monsters, trying to pick them off from above so his father wouldn't have as much to do. The panther, quickly used his nails to gouge deep into the head of one of the undead, making sure that he dug deep enough to puncture the brain. Whilst the panther had attracted enough attention that the remaining creatures went after him, his son had landed a cutting curse directly to the head of one, leaving bone and brain exposed, and was aiming for another when the panther shoved it into the path of the next oncoming curse. The girl had finally managed to get a good enough grip of the branch to hoist herself up, and she threw a knife at the lone remaining undead, she hit her mark, but the knife didn't embed enough, probably from her being exhausted, so the panther pushed it in the rest of the way with a huge paw. The panther looked around, listening and smelling for any further undead milling about the place, but once he deemed it safe enough, he shifted back and called to his son that it was safe.

Looking up and noticing the girl staring at him, he shot a quick smile, before fussing over his son making sure nothing had happened even though he knew it hadn't. looking back at the girl, he noticed she was bloody, exhausted and in need of a good meal by the looks of it.

"Come down, we won't hurt you" The man said quietly trying to seem as unthreatening as possible, and to not draw any attention to them.

"Mister you just turned human from a giant cat, forgive me if I'm cautious of what you say" the girl shot back.

The boy spoke up then, and the girl seemed to marginally relax at someone her own age being nearby and clearly not a hostage.

"Are you alone? How did you end up here?"

"I have a group, we were on a highway when a horde came through, I hid under a car but one of the Walkers fell and saw me, I panicked and ran. Our leader came after me and found me about to be bitten in the river, he got me free and led them away, I was supposed to stay but another walker came for me and I ran again, I thought I was going back to the highway but I must have… yeah I'm lost" she finally admitted.

The man looked at the girl with sadness, he supposed she must have been terrified but how she had managed to survive? That was amazing.

"You appear to have done a good job of hiding though, well done, how about you come down and we'll help you find your group? Scouts honour, we won't hurt you"

"My names Sophia" the girl said finally hitting the soft ground of the forest

"Well Sophia, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Harry, Harry Potter"

"And I'm Teddy, Teddy Lupin-Potter"

* * *

And thats chapter one! Please review, like, favourite. Whatever your hearts desire!

Crossfire.


	2. Finding The Group

Hello again!

Think this is most definitely the quickest I've ever updated!

Hope you enjoy.

* * *

"So Mr. Harry, how exactly did you transform into a panther?" Sophia asked brightly

She had quickly warmed up to the pair who had saved her. They had promised her no harm and even gave her food from their supplies when they found out she had nothing left from when she had raided the tent. She began walking with them, hoping to find her way back to the highway where her Mom was. They promised to stick with her until they did.

"Well Sophia, that's a secret, can you keep a secret?" Harry asked chuckling

"Sure can Mr. Harry"

"Dad! Surely we can't tell her" Teddy exclaimed

"She's already seen something pretty weird kid, might as well, not like the Statue Of Secrecy has people protecting it now" Harry shrugged

"Tell me what?" Sophia finally demanded looking between Harry and Teddy.

"We're wizards" Teddy said nervously, he got on quite well with Sophia and didn't want her to be afraid of him for something he couldn't control about his heritage.

"OH!" Sophia yelled before suddenly being hushed by the Father and Son duo who looked around for any new threat "Are you guys from the Atlanta Academy of Magic?!" she continued whispering now

"The what?" Teddy asked confused

"The Atlanta Academy of Magic! They came to my house after my birthday last year. The age they start is 11 usually but I had to get deferred for a year because they had to sort me out a scholarship so I could attend, I was supposed to start in September but the Walkerpocolypse happened"

Harry looked shocked at randomly managing to find an underage witch in rural Georgia of all places. These things could only ever happen to him.

"No kiddo, we're from the United Kingdom, England specifically, most of the magical community there go to a school in Scotland called Hogwarts, it's a one thousand year old castle surrounded by a huge forest" Harry explained

"That's sounds amazing" Sophia sighed wistfully "I wish I had gotten to go to school, I was really looking forward to learning everything, I didn't know you could turn into animals though, can everyone do that?"

"Not everyone, some people don't have the patience for it, it can take years of training and dedication to learning everything about the process, but if you want, I can start teaching you how to find your inner animal. After all, the rules are out of the window at the moment ad I'm already making some progress with Teddy"

"You mean... you'll stick around and teach me magic?" Sophia gasped eyes wide and hopeful.

"Yes Sophia, I'll stick around, after all, wouldn't do to be leaving an underage witch hanging around, we'll just have to try get to a magical district to get you some supplies, and definitely a wand"

"I already have my wand" Sophia said, "The school took me to the magical district to show me around, I think they noticed the… atmosphere in my house, they wanted me to have somewhere to escape to if I needed it, mom saved up for months so that I could have my wand, it was just in moms pack when I got lost"

"Interesting, do you think you could tell me how to get there? Magical supplies are limited for the moment, it would be good to go get some, potion supplies and spare wands especially" Harry pondered out loud

"Yes I think so, Mom might be better with the street names though"

"Well, one less thing to worry about is always good in a world like this" Teddy finally piped up.

"Exactly Ted" Harry nodded

"So, what do we do now, how do we find our way back to my mom? Can you use magic to track her?" Sophia asked

"Well, I'm guessing by your story your mother isn't a witch?" Harry asked

"No, she was just as surprised as I was, Dad was furious though, he didn't like that I was... different" Sophia mumbled the last part

"You're not different, you're the same as any witch and wizard on the street, your powers are yours to master and to define you, I think that's one of the reasons you survived so long out here, magic is instinct, and your magic will always work to keep you alive until it simply can't anymore" Harry said "Anyway, since your mums not a witch we can't track her, magic calls to magic and if your mother is a mundane as you called her, then I won't be able to find her"

"So, if magic can only be used to track other magicals directly, what about finding my Mom?" Sophia asked, her eyes welling up "We have to find her Mr. Harry, she'll be going insane without me"

"Don't worry, I can't find her directly, but look at this…" Harry trailed off, mumbling his new favourite spell, showing Sophia the 5 mile map of their surroundings.

Gasping at the display of magic, Sophia quickly scoured the map looking for the highway she came from;

"There!" She pointed to a straight bit of road next to a small river; "that's where we were, the straight is filled with cars so we were going through them looking for supplies when the horde moved through, then I ran over the barriers into the river and then further in, I'm actually a lot further away than I thought"

"It will have been the tree jumping" Teddy said, "You would probably be surprised how far you managed to move"

"Okay so if you were here…" Harry started mumbling, looking over the map trying to figure it out, he noticed the barn full of walkers again but then noticed the other fifteen greens surrounding the house that was also on the property "Okay Sophia, so Green means Living Human, Blue means Animal and Red means Undead, I think this is your group here, how many are in it?"

"Rick, Shane, Glenn, Mr. Daryl, Mr. Dale, Mom, Lori, Carl, T-Dog and Andrea so, ten, eleven including me" she replied counting on her fingers, "But why would they leave the highway? What if I'd found my way back? Why would they leave me?" Sophia was nearly crying thinking about being abandoned

"Hey hey! I don't think they've abandoned you, look, this farm here is where I think your group is, I know theres more than you counted but if they've found a farm then count the people who could live there, and we'd have roughly the same number, and look at how it connects to the forest we're in, they probably doubled back to try find somewhere safe to stay whilst they looked for you" Harry was quick to comfort

"Maybe Mr. Harry, but I still don't see why my mom would leave the highway" Sophia mumbled

"I know it looks bad but I'm sure its not, the farm is only a mile away and we can get some answers for you" Teddy slung an arm around Sophia's shoulders. "Can we run Dad? We'll get there faster after all" Teddy smirked

"How you didn't get into Slytherin I'll never know" Harry shook his head "Come on then, hold tight" and he shifted into his Panther form.

Sophia took a moment to admire the animal in front of her, she had never seen a panther before, and the majesty of the animal in front of her took her breath away, pure black soft fur, razor sharp nails poked out from underneath the biggest paws she had ever seen, and bright green eyes stared at her, Mr. Harrys eyes, she also noticed the strange white mark on his forehead, the same shape as the scar. She started stroking the panthers head, gigging when the giant cat let out a mewl of pleasure, Teddy hopped on the back and held a hand out to Sophia, encouraging her to jump on in front of him, she did and with a small grunt, Harry the Panther stood and began to walk away from the clearing, quickly turning it into a run.

"So whats it like being raised in the magical world?" Sophia asked Teddy, the wind was whistling in her ears, her hair flying out behind her and her stomach was in her throat from the bouncing but this was quite possibly the best experience of her life.

"Its amazing, we're a bit backwards in regards to things like technology, writing supplies, customs and dress sense, but it is a brilliant life. Dad raised me with a foot in both worlds though, he said I needed to learn to not depend solely on my magic, that there may come times in life where I can't use magic and I need to not be hindered without it, plus he likes me knowing the sense of accomplishment I get from not doing everything the easy way all the time" Teddy replied

"He sounds like an amazing Dad"

"He is, but it's been hard for him, he's not my biological dad, he's my godfather, my dad died in the war, and Harry raised me alongside Grandma, I couldn't ask for anything more between the two of them they've both sacrificed a lot to raise me"

"What do you mean?" Sophia asked

"My Mum, she also died in the war, and its the same war were thousands of people lost their lives, including my parents, and my grandmother, she lost both her daughter, my mum and her husband, so she had no one but me after the war, and growing up, I didn't really notice it at first but I knew it was hard for her to be around me, some days harder than others, I look a lot like my Mum apparently, and Dad, well, he was with someone, and they couldn't get over the fact that I was also a priority in his life, apparently he was young, he shouldn't have been looking after someone else's child, no matter what commitments he'd made before the parents had died" Teddy rolled his eyes "God I hate that woman, and her brother"

Sophia sat in silence for a minute or two; "The teachers, when they came to tell me about my magic, they took me to the shopping district like I said, that's how I have my wand and a couple of books, I was trying to learn when I could but my Dad, he really didn't like what I could do, a grant came through last month, so even though I already had some stuff we went back and used the grant to get the rest of my supplies, and I managed to get some other really cool stuff, I probably could have survived longer, but Mom has my pack" Here she laughed, "She didn't want anyone to find it and get freaked out when all they saw was a bottomless hole"

"Your Mom is really okay with it then?" Teddy enquired

"Oh yeah definitely. She was so proud and happy for me, we didn't have the best life with my Dad so I think she was just glad that I had an escape"

"So your Dad.. Just what? Hated you?" Teddy threw his hand to his mouth in horror at what he'd just said; "Sorry, I'm so sorry I really didn't mean to just come out with that, it's none of my business you don't have to tell me anything else" He mumbled apologetically

"It's okay, my Dad was a horrible man, he's abused my Mom my whole life, I escaped a lot of it because I was 'His special little Princess' but he would beat and scream at my Mom every single day, and I hated it, and him. He would never hit me, he was always just trying to get rid of Mom and take me out on trips" Sophia shuddered "I never knew what he really wanted from me, but I tried to resist being alone with him as much as possible, he hated me showing any kind of independence or strength though, so I always had to act weak, so he'd be happy, and for a while it worked…" She trailed off and Teddy let her be in her thoughts for a moment before gently nudging her to let her know he was there for her, and she continued; "But then we found out about Magic, and he turned on me too. My Mom tried so hard to keep him away from me, she got me into a shelter a couple of times, but she always had to return to him, so he didn't suspect her in my disappearance, she begged me so many times to just stay until school started so I would be safe, but I refused to let her go through it all alone, then the apocalypse happened, and we were stuck with him, so we still had to pretend, but finally, he died the other night" Here Sophia flung her arms out wide, as if indicating to Teddy how she truly felt about her freedom.

"How did your Dad die?"

"Eaten alive by Walkers in his tent" Sophia smirked and Teddy cringed

Suddenly the Panther came to a halt and kneeled down to let them off it's back. Looking around they realised they were behind the barn of a farm, the one that must have been on the map.

"This is it Sophia" Harry said quickly flicking the spell back up to double check; the Barn they were next to was full of Red dots and all three shuddered.

"Thank you Mr. Harry, lets find my Mom"

"Definitely kiddo, I need to speak to her about starting your training anyway"

As they stood up and made their way around the barn into the field, the three were shocked when yet another loud CRACK rang out after a shout, the third one they had all heard in three days in fact.

Then Teddy fell. 

* * *

Chapter 2! Hope you all enjoy, as for my 4 reviewers, thank you all! And you'll just have to wait and see what pairings and people I introduce :D

Crossfire. x


	3. Saving Family

Hello! Me again, hope you enjoy this next chapter - A quick thank you to my reviewers and to answer one question, this story will not have any slash in it. Don't get me wrong I love reading it but its not where I want to take this story:)

Also, I am not a doctor, I have no idea how long surgery takes or what the tools used are, so I improvised, hope I didn't fail too badly though!

Thanks! Crossfire.

* * *

Harry was on the ground almost immediately after Teddy, there was an alarming amount of blood already pooling underneath his head, and Harry was terrified he had already lost his son. Slipping into Healer mode he quickly cast a diagnostic spell, almost weeping with relief when the spell showed the steady heartbeat of his son. The bullet had fractured, and most had missed Teddy, an inexperienced shooter obviously, but there was something stuck somewhere he just couldn't look right now, thinking quickly he muttered "Ferula" Under his breath and pristine bandages were now wrapped tightly against his sons head. All he now felt was a burning rage, how dare someone shoot at them?! It wasn't like they were walkers, and the speed they were walking at there was no way they could have been mistaken as anything but Human.

"STOP" Harry faintly heard Sophia screaming, he was too busy focusing on the blood that was rapidly dying the white bandages red "STOP THEY'RE SAFE. THEY ARE NOT WALKERS"

Harry knew he wouldn't be able to do anything quicker than another 'Ferula' before the Muggles came investigating, so that was what he did, he'd rather have to explain clean bandages than there being a lot of blood but no wounds, he knew head wounds bled a lot, but Harry had a bad feeling.

He picked his son up intent on getting him to a flat surface so he could find out what was wrong when he turned around to no less than 4 guns and a crossbow in his face, questions being screamed at him by all parties, he barely had time to answer any of them before a blonde and an older gentleman came running up, the blonde completely ecstatic.

"I told you all I could get it from the RV" she crowed laughing "I hope I killed the son of a bi…" but the sentence died out when she saw just who she had actually hit. The Blonde stood in horror, staring at the little boy, no older than Sophia and Carl, that she had gunned down, whilst a guy in a sheriff's uniform began shouting at her

"We told you we had it handled! Noise draws them in, who knows how many heard that shot and will come out of the forest after us!"

"I just, I thought, I thought it was a walker" she whispered before falling down in a dead faint.

Then another shout was heard; "SOPHIA"

Everyone snapped to attention at the name, the sudden screaming of a woman, and then were more shocked that Sophia stepped out from behind the man carrying the boy, unbitten and unharmed, and taking off in a dead sprint for the woman who had screamed.

"MOM" she called sobbing, before finally colliding with the older woman and sending them both flying to the floor. The group around Harry smiled at the scene, before his cough reminded them that he was there, and the weapons were straight back up in his face.

"Please, I really really need to treat my son!" Harry begged, "Look at the blood, somethings wrong with him, I need a flat surface, preferably cleaner than a field"

"Now hold on just a minute" Someone snarled, "How did you find us? And why do you have Sophia? Also, this boy looks nothing like you, so how do we know you're really his father?" Harrys head snapped up to stare into the eyes of a tall, broad shouldered man, with a shaved head looking at him like he was the devil.

"One of your people just SHOT MY SON! And you expect me to answer any of your questions right now? Fuck. Off" Harry spat

"Why you son of a…" The man started to say but whatever he was about to say was cut off by Sophia running up to them

"Mr Harry, the man said you could use the house to see to Teddy! Hurry he looks like he's losing a lot of blood!"

"He is not going anywhere near that…" But he was yet again cut off

"Shut up Shane! They saved my life when I was nearly Walker food and then you shot them! He is a doctor! Now let him save his son!"

The man was looking at Sophia in shock, as were most of the adults around her, they had never heard Sophia speak like that to anyone. Harry took advantage of the distraction and ran like hell towards the big white house on the other side of the field.

"In here" A man yelled when he saw Harry coming closer "Straight into the room, he'll have to be laid on the table. Patricia! I need my kit"

Harry went through into a clean dining room, with a large oak table in the middle, laying Teddy down.

"Names Hershel, I'm not a doctor but I am a pretty damn good Veterinarian, I can take it from here"

"No, sir please, you've done enough letting us into your home, I'm a Doctor I can take it from here, you don't have to stay" Harry protested.

"Well I can at least help" Hershel replied "Those people out there, I never wanted them all here in the first place, I was only helping the sheriffs boy, it was partly our fault he was injured, then they dragged the whole group down despite it not being what I agreed too, got one member of my family killed, and are clearly using guns on my property again despite me asking not too"

Whilst Hershel was explaining this Harry had scrubbed his hands the best way he could without an overly obvious display of magic and was sorting through the medical supplies that Patricia had brought through.

"Do you have a hair shaver I could use? I'm sure there's something wrong with his head"

"Yeah its upstairs, I'll go and get it" A young blonde girl offered before darting out of the room.

"Beth, my youngest" Hershel offered

Harry just nodded as he pulled on some surgical gloves and began methodically removing the bandages around his son's head, grimacing at the blood dripping off of them. Gently Harry felt around the wound, or what was visible of it anyway. He frowned as he found something sharp about an inch above the bullet wound.

"I really need those shavers" Harry whispered looking at Hershel

Just then, Beth (If Harry remembered correctly) came running in with a charged shaver which Hershel grabbed and immediately started to shave around Teddy's hairline under Harrys direction. Then they saw it, a huge lump of shrapnel was poking through the skin of Teddy's head, and Harry cursed himself for just muttering the 'ferula' spell without appropriately examining the wound, he had probably caused it to get worse than it could have been. He needed to get it out now, if the shrapnel had pierced his skull, it would be dangerously close to his brain!

"Do you have an IV line?" Harry asked urgently, Teddy was still losing blood at an alarming rate and if the shrapnel ended up moving it would be more complicated than he could deal with without magic

Without responding Hershel just held up the line and began to place an empty bag on the metal stand ready to fill it with an anaesthetic but Harry stopped him.

"Teddy is allergic to most ingredients; he needs these special medications" Harry gasped rummaging around in his bag as best he could without digging his arm entirely into it. "AHA!" he yelped as he found the sleeping potion and blood replenisher "They can be mixed don't worry just get them into his arm"

Waiting as long as he dared, which hopefully was just enough time for the potions to have a good effect on his son, he began cutting the skin around the shrapnel with Hershel's scalpel.

For an hour Harry carefully and methodically worked on getting, what he found out was, a bullet out. The bullet must have hit something on the way to Teddy that caused it to break, the fragments in his head were all small and could easily break again if he was any faster in his movements. One piece had managed to perforate his skull and Harry was positive that was his fault, nevertheless, he had to push that blame for himself aside and focus on Teddy. By the time Harry had all the pieces, Teddy was alive, sleeping, and freshly stitched up since they were in the presence of muggles.

Sighing, Harry thanked Hershel profusely for all his help and asked if he wouldn't mind watching Teddy whilst he went outside to let Sophia know he was okay. The kind old man agreed and Harry slowly walked away from the table, casting one last glance at his son before leaving the house.

Harry was immensely grateful for having had Hershel's help, he didn't know if he would have been able to remain calm enough on his own, he had operated on plenty of kids, but never his son, and if he had been at home, he never would have had the chance. And Hershel's stream of chatter, telling him about his family and the group that was on his farm, provided Harry a sense of stability he hadn't realised he needed at the time.

Blinking at the sunlight, Harry admired the beauty and simplicity of the farm, he had hoped as a child to one day have this, this type of home, to be free. The thoughts continued for a minute before a sudden shout interrupted him.

"Mr Harry!" was all the warning he got before a small body flew into his side chattering at high speed.

"Mr Harry! Is Teddy alright? I can't believe what happened! There was so much blood and I yelled at Andrea for shooting at us but you need to do it as well because it was all such stupid decision making and…"

"Woah woah Sophia, calm down" Harry chuckled "Teddy is fine for now just resting and I'll talk to Andrea was it? Later. But I thought for now I could meet your Mum"

Sophia's eyes lit up and she grabbed Harry's hand before dragging him over to a few big logs surrounding a small campfire.

"Mom!" Sophia yelled "Mom!"

A grey-haired lady span around, clearly panicking at the shouts she could hear coming from her daughter, before relaxing when she saw Sophia giggling and dragging someone behind her.

"You don't need to shout so much Sophia" The woman gently chided "I'm right here" she laughed as she took in the fake pout her daughter was suddenly sporting

"But Moooom" Sophia whined, "I wanted you to meet Mr Harry"

The woman finally seemed to look at the person her daughter had a death drip on, and her eyes welled with tears as she jumped off the log to embrace Harry.

"Thank you so much Mr. Potter! It means so much to me that you saved my daughter, never mind managed to find us with her as well" She said sobbing into his chest

Harry was immensely surprised at the amount of gratitude he could feel pouring off the woman in waves, no one had ever thanked him this earnestly before.

"Really, it was no trouble at all, and I can't take all the credit, after all, Sophia kept herself alive long enough for me to find her, and its Harry Ms, just Harry" Harry replied warmly, loosely wrapping an arm around her and guiding her back to the log.

"Let me formally introduce myself, my name is Harry Potter, saviour of kickass little witches cornered by Walkers" Harry winked at Carol but frowned when her admiration was replaced with fear and anger.

"Now wait just a minute! First, how dare you make light of the situation you found my daughter in! She could have died! And second, if you harm one hair on her head for who she is, I will kill you" Carol whispered in a deadly tone

"Mom no! You misunderstood! Harry is a wizard, like me" Sophia said frantically, she didn't want Harry to think she had lied or been wrong about her mother.

"He's what?" Carol asked

"He's like me Mom" Sophia confirmed

"OH, shit, sorry! I just, she's my baby and I wasn't sure what you meant and, I'm sorry Harry"

"No worries Ms, I completely understand" Harry shrugged it off

"Carol please, just Carol, now that I'm free of my husband I'd like to think of a new last name for me and Sophia, she doesn't deserve to be burdened with it anymore" Carol said in a soft voice smiling gently at Harry before standing "Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the group"

Harry offered his arm to Carol and headed in the direction she pointed, laughing as Sophia skipped on in front of them both. Walking towards the RV that was parked near the fences to the fields, Carol was telling Harry about Andrea and how she was trying to prove herself a valuable member of the group after losing her sister, that's why she was on guard and shot even after being told not to. Harry understood her emotions, granted it would be a long time before he would forgive her for shooting his son, but he understood.

Rounding the side of the RV, Harry saw another car parked behind it, with what looked like the rest of the group around it. Carol called out to someone named Rick, and then for the second time that day, Harry was staring down the barrel of a gun.

* * *

Review if you please :D


	4. Discussions

Hello all!

It's me back again with a new chapter, enjoy!

Fair bit of talking in this one, I was going to make it longer but it felt like I threw a lot of chatter in here to be honest. Bit of bonding between characters here as well :)

Oh! and before I forget, Patricia is Hershel's brother and Otis is her husband and there son is Jimmy. So there isn't a JimmyxBeth romance here, they're cousins.

* * *

"Not one step closer" Shane growled

"Brother, put the gun down" another voice said and Harry had to blink and shake his head a little, this man was in a full sheriff's uniform, what? Did he honestly think that mattered anymore?

"Not a chance Rick! We don't know this guy! He could be anyone, willing to do anything! What I want to know about him is why he had Sophia! And why is he passing that boy in that house as his, it's obvious they're not related! They look nothing alike! God knows why he has him but I'm willing to bet it's nothing good, we have to protect the kids and the group from him!" Shane spat

"Shane!" Carol admonished "He saved Sophia, why are you acting like this?"

"Because I want to know how! And why! A grown ass man like this wandering the woods with a young boy is not right! Also, all that woodland and he managed to find us? I'm telling ya, there's something wrong with him, we need to protect our people"

Harry, who had been growing steadily angrier during Shane's tirade, especially at the insinuation of having Teddy for nefarious purposes, finally snapped at the end of Shane's 'Speech'

"You need to keep your people safe from me?" Harry exclaimed incredulously "What about you?! You're the ones who lost a 12-year-old girl in the forest for two nights and a day! A girl who when I found her was hanging from a branch with four Undead underneath her seconds away from dragging her out of the tree, she was too weak to fight them properly from lack of food and water and was about to lose her grip, she was about to die and your angry that I saved her? Are we also talking about the same people who stood by and let a man beat his wife? Did nothing about it? Are we talking about the group that actually disabled a perimeter ring around SOMEONE ELSES CAMP, and then just decided to stay there? Just sit and let an influx of Walkers trample in, killing nearly a dozen people? Also, not to mention the group who couldn't quite remember just how dangerous it was to take an 11-year-old into the woods in the normal world, never mind the fucking apocalypse! Are we talking about the group that literally have 3 people to properly defend them? Who sends a young 20-year-old kid on dangerous solo runs to fucking Atlanta?! And then sticks him with four other people and expects the best? The group, who three separate people, have told me lie, cheat and steal to and from each other without giving a fuck about any of the consequences? Yeah, some fucking group. You assholes just shot my son, he might have brain damage now, and you!" Harry snarled whirling around to glare at Shane again, "Have the audacity to say I'm the one your group needs protecting from? Seems to me like you're all doing a pretty damn good job of killing yourselves without my involvement. Carol, Sophia, I will speak with you later, for now, I'm going make sure the idiot who shot my son in the head didn't manage to kill him" he shot a significant look at Andrea, and didn't feel the slightest bit guilty when she paled and tried to duck behind the older man standing next to her.

As the group watched Harry storm off, silence reigned for the first time since the CDC explosion and expressions were varied. Shane was furious at Harry's comments; Lori couldn't believe a stranger had so easily picked apart all the failures the groups decisions had turned out to be lately. Andrea (once she recovered), T-Dog and Dale were thinking about Harry's comments about their only being three people who could properly help defend the group and vowed to do something to change it, they had lost too many people to lose more now. Glenn was thinking about how true the comments about him running to Atlanta were. He had argued vehemently again the decision for more people than himself to go, but he had, in the end, been overruled, the prospect of more supplies being brought back this time winning the argument. No matter how much he had protested, knowing taking five other people with him would be a risk, never mind who those five people were! And when he'd run across Rick, he'd been in more trouble having yet someone else to save and get out of the city. He had hated the position he had been in and was still feeling guilty for the loss of Merle.

Rick had a look of despair on his face, Harry was entirely right. He had made the decision to take Carl into the woods, a decision he would never have made back home because he knew there would be hunters about, and he couldn't, he WOULDN'T risk his son like that. So why had he thought it was okay to do now? When the world was one thousand times shittier. And even the group, Harry was right, really only himself, Shane and Daryl were fully capable to defend the rest. They needed to start the training…NOW.

Daryl was amazed, standing at the edge of the group quietly taking everything in, he more than agreed with the newcomer. He was entirely right about every member of the group, they were completely inept at protecting themselves, and right now, it was lucky they were because otherwise Andrea would have killed that boy, but one of these days, the ineptitude of these people would get all of them killed. He was grateful that Harry had managed to save Sophia, he was very fond of the little girl and her mother, rather like an aunt and a niece. Carol had not deserved to watch her little girl run from Walkers less than a week after the death of her husband. So maybe, just maybe, Harry could be good for most of the group.

Harry was fuming as he stormed back into the Greene's house to check on his son. He couldn't believe the audacity of Shane, to even suggest that the group needed to be saved from a doctor, to suggest that his son wasn't his. The man was unstable, that was obvious. And he couldn't believe that someone like that was practically leading a group of survivors.

"Harry?" Hershel questioned as he watched the younger man storm through the lounge on the way to the dining room, "What's wrong?"

Somewhere through the fog Hershel's question did manage to catch Harry's attention.

"Shane" Harry sighed "He seems to think I'm a danger to the group. He also thinks that because Teddy doesn't resemble me that I must be doing something horrible with him and that he needs protecting from me"

Hershel frowned, "Whilst I do agree that Teddy does not look like you, there is no doubt in my mind he is your son. Has Shane perhaps never heard of Adoption, or fostering?" He said sarcastically "I'm getting really tired of him being on my property" he sighed

"Why" Harry asked curiously

"Because if that… group really think that they need to be protected from a Doctor, there is something more wrong with them that I first thought"

Harry, sensing the hesitation on the word group, enquired as to what Hershel meant.

"I mean, that Rick is supposed to be the leader, and yet he lets Shane walk all over him, he lets his wife, Lori, talk to him like dirt, and the rest of the people are suffering for it. There is a clear divide in the group, and it's going to get them hurt. Now this isn't a world anymore where you can afford to be alone, outnumbered and undertrained for any situation. This sickness is horrifying, and until they get better people need to be prepared, and that group is not, they've got two kids shot in three days" Hershel spat

Harry was shocked that someone as kind and selfless as Hershel, a man who had opened his home to not only one but two groups of people in need, could be speaking so viscously about one of them. It must have shown on his face, because Hershel started laughing.

"I told you Harry, Rick and his boy came running into my house after my brother in law accidentally shot through a buck and hit his boys stomach. He needed to be operated on, there was no way I could get the bullet out without killing him, he's ten for Christ sakes! Going through the deer must have fractured the bullet much like in your boy, and Carl seized up just from me trying to get out the piece that was closest to the surface. He would have died if I couldn't anesthetise him. So, Shane, and my brother in law Otis, went to the high school about 6 miles away. There was an emergency evacuation there, and they had a few medical trucks, and a Transport unit which was basically like a small surgery room, so they went to get the supplies. Shane came back, Otis didn't. He _said_ they were overrun, that Otis sacrificed himself to save the boy"

"But you don't believe that" Harry surmised

"Come now, look at him" Hershel said gesturing out the window to Shane who had just stormed into view "Otis was an ex-marine, and yes he had put some pounds on, and yes, I do not doubt for a second that he would give his life to save a young child. But are you honestly telling me that an officer of the law like Shane, a deputy, would just have let a civilian die? And ever since he came back, he's just acting crazy, and I know that because I've heard the others talk about it. He had hair missing so he shaved it all off, he had Otis' gun and the pack I know would have been with him at all times, which yes could have been from him giving it over, but why the gun? Wouldn't that be more beneficial to draw them away from Shane? And he just fly's off the handle constantly, everyone and anyone are targets for his anger and suspicion, except for Lori and Carl"

"So, you think he did something to Otis?" Harry confirmed

"Oh, I think he did more than something" Hershel scoffed, "I think he killed him"

And Harry was horrified, after the war against the Dark, five years as an Auror and seven as a Healer, he didn't think much could faze him anymore, that he was over seeing the worst in people, but apparently the Apocalypse was just bringing out the worst in people all over again.

"I think we need to find out, for your own piece of mind" Harry said looking at Hershel.

Hershel looked intently at Harry before agreeing "I would like to know, he may have only been by brother by marriage, but we have been close for many years, he was… he is my best friend"

"I will find him" Harry said resolutely making Hershel look up in surprise, "I will find him, and I will bring him home for you, just don't let on what I'm doing, god only knows what would happen if someone from the other group found out where I was going" Harry sighed "If Shane found out, it might prompt him to follow and kill me too"

"Thank you Harry" Hershel choked out, his eyes were welling with tears and he looked overcome with emotion. Turning away again to look out of the window towards the rising moon, Harry saw Hershel glance at him before speaking.

"Would you mind, if I asked you a question?" Hershel sounded extremely nervous, like he wanted to ask the question but was unsure if he actually wanted the answer.

Harry smiled, "Sure, anything"

"Do you think that these, creatures. For lack of a better word, are still… Human" Hershel eventually asked, still sounding extremely nervous. Like he was scared of Harry's answer.

"I don't think so" Harry replied after a minute "I have family and friends back in England. My sister Hermione, she was a researcher with a special branch of the World Health Organisation and god knows how but she found a way to get me a message, and the message…" Harry stuttered to a stop, before swallowing hard and continuing "She said, that they had managed to get a test subject, and they kept him under 24/7 surveillance right from the moment the bite was found. They monitored everything. When we're alive, our whole brain is constantly keeping to keep us alive, every part has a message to send somewhere that keeps us breathing, feeling pain, knowing when to eat and sleep and piss. Then there's what Hermione called the 'Human Parts' like the neo cortex and the frontal lobe, the things that make you who you are by storing your personality, your memories, your emotions… when we die, everything is shut off, you literally just, stop. These creatures, when they regenerate, or whatever you want to call it, it's literally their brain stems leading them, there the knowledge to move, and to eat, but that's it, there's no, emotion, there's no memories, there isn't anything human coming back with them. Just a shell intent on feeding. She said, the best the world can do right now, is to aim for the head, so that at least the people you love are spared from this new existence. So that they truly can rest in peace" Harry finished talking quietly

Hershel looked floored, "Who…" He trailed off coughing "Who was the test subject?" He asked delicately

Harry smiled bitterly "His name was Saros, he was 5 years old, he got the bite from another child who turned whilst at school. He was amazing and he… he was my godson. He was her son, and she had to watch him die"

* * *

I had loads more written for this chapter, but like I said up there ^ theres a lot of talking in this one. Hope you enjoyed! Until we meet again

Crossfire.x


	5. Revelations

Hello all! I am back with a brand new chapter, my apologies for the delay, because this is more of a filler chapter I struggled a bit with finding the flow.

Anyway! Hope you al enjoy:)

Crossfire.

* * *

It was pitch black outside, the night having taken over a long time ago, but the lights were on low, the windows open and Harry had never felt more at peace with a place.

Hours had passed and Harry and Hershel were still sat talking, and they had learned a lot about each other.

Whilst talking Hershel admitted to keeping Walkers in the barn, and Harry said he knew, he'd heard them as he came past with Sophia, but that wasn't his secret to tell. Harry knew Hershel must have had a reason, and he had. He hoped that if he kept them together, and kept them safe, one day, when all this was over and a cure had been found, he could have his wife and his son back. But Hershel had finally accepted that it wasn't going to happen now, so he told Harry he would tell his girls, so they could say goodbye, and then he would end everyone in the barn, so they weren't stuck in the constant limbo Harry had described.

As they talked Harry checked on both Teddy and Carl, the latter because Hershel asked him to make sure that he hadn't missed anything seeing as Carl hadn't yet woken up, but boy what a mistake that was…

* * *

"I just hope you can make sure he's okay, like I said, I'm a vet not a doctor, there is a lot I could have done wrong, I mean, have you seen the size of a cow's stomach" Hershel chuckled

"No, you did really good with what you got from the truck, only thing I could really do is try minimise the scar, but something tells me a young kid like this would think it looks cool" Harry laughed

"WHAT IS HE DOING IN HERE?" Lori screeched as she walked into Hershel's bedroom completely unannounced, carrying a rag and a bowl of hot water. Her eyes were narrowed, and her mouth curled into a snarl as she stared at Harry.

"Didn't you hear?" Hershel said, looking disapprovingly at Lori "He's a doctor, a paediatrician, I just had him checking out Carl to make sure I didn't miss anything nor that there were any infections brewing"

"How dare you make that decision without asking me!" She screeched "Without asking Rick?!"

"You mean how dare I actually ASK someone to enter my own bedroom? To ask a professional to check on MY patient?" Hershel snarked "I agree how could I possibly have made such a terrible decision as letting an actual doctor look over your son"

But haven't you seen that boy with him?!" She shrieked, "He just comes wandering out of the woods with Sophia and the boy? He can't possibly be this man's! They look nothing alike! What if he's a…"

But whatever word she was about to say, and both Harry and Hershel were pretty sure they knew what it was, was cut off when a small groan came from the bed, and the crash of Lori's bowl brought Harry back from the rage he was feeling.

"Carl, Carl wake up baby, wake up its Mommy" Lori was now kneeling on the bed, stroking Carl's hair whilst whispering in his ear.

Harry walked forward intending to check that Carl was actually awake or not and to finish his check-up but a particularly vicious glare from Lori had him stopping in his tracks.

He was saddened that a woman, with a clearly poorly child, was stopping, no, completely refusing help from an actual doctor because of one man's comments. But, then again, Harry had had his fair share of experience with those types of people. This was nothing new. He told Hershel that he would see him downstairs before retreating from the room.

It was a half an hour later that Hershel came down, escorting Lori to the door and attempting to get her out of the house. A difficult job it seemed as Lori was completely unwilling to leave, complaining that her baby boy had woken up and she deserved to be by his side throughout the night, in case it happened again. And why was she being kicked out when Harry got to stay, it wasn't fair. Luckily, he wasn't having any of, what he later dubbed 'Childish Behaviour' and he later explained to Harry that Carl had awoken briefly enough to have a glass of water before drifting back to sleep.

* * *

Harry had carefully tested the waters around telling Hershel he was a wizard, he meant what he said to Sophia, no one would be around anymore to protect the secret, and Harry, after his entire childhood having being abused for powers he could not control, and his year on the run that meant he had to hide who he was and all his powers, he was not one to keep his powers hidden anymore. And if people knew about him and Teddy and Sophia and what they could do, he would be able to help them easier, that's not to say he was about to go and announce them to the group outside, but something told Harry he could trust Hershel for definite. Surprisingly, Hershel seemed to catch on quite quickly to what Harry was implying and explained he had had a cousin who was a Witch, being only extended family, he wasn't supposed to know but he had seen his cousin practising with her wand one day and they just didn't tell anyone. His cousin being 17 at the time no wards went out about magic outside of school, so he was never obliviated of the knowledge because no one was alerted. Harry had laughed in pure shock, from what he knew of the American ministry, especially fifty or so years ago, is that they were beyond cautious still of the secret getting out, especially with the Grindelwald aftermath and everything that had happened with Newt Scamander! So, for Hershel to have known all this time… well let's just say he's lucky that MACUSA had bigger fish to fry back then.

And so, Harry told Hershel the truth about himself and Teddy, from both of their parents passing and the war. To the advanced senses and extra abilities, before discussing everything Hershel knew about the school, but unfortunately it wasn't a lot. So, Harry was encouraged to talk to Hershel's daughters and his nephew Jimmy. Harry tried performing his spell to get a better look on the amount of Undead there, but it must have been just outside the radius of the spell, Harry saw quite a few reds heading in a north-west direction and Hershel confirmed that was the way the school was, so Harry sighed, knowing he'd just have to pack a bag and hope for the best, just checking the map when he was closer to the school. Hershel had offered his assistance in going for Otis, but Harry had gently explained that whilst he appreciated the offer, it would be easier him going by himself, as otherwise he'd just worry about Hershel's safety. Luckily Hershel had understood and agreed with Harry, just again advising him to talk to Jimmy, Maggie and Beth, to get an up to date recollection of the school and where everything was likely to be. It was the summer holidays when everything started, and Jimmy and Beth were about to be Seniors, whereas Maggie had graduated around 3 years ago but volunteered occasionally with the animal classes so they were all up to date, Harry agreed and it was decided he would speak to them all in the morning, as it was past midnight now.

As Hershel got up to go to bed, he told Harry, "You can sleep in here next to your boy"

"Are you sure?" Harry said, "I know how much you hate the sudden intrusion" He smirked

"Nah" Hershel said as he waved his hand, "I like you" He laughed, "Goodnight Harry, do what you need too, to make yourself comfortable."

"Goodnight Hershel"

Harry sighed as he stood and quickly transfigured the couch into a bed for the night, he would do the same for Teddy, but his son was honestly the most awkward sleeper he had ever encountered! He could, and would, sleep anywhere, but if he was comfortable, say on a bed or a couch, it wasn't uncommon for him to fidget about and be found upside down, especially in bed, head buried in the soft covers at the bottom. But if he was on a hard-uncomfortable surface, he would stay still, and that's what he needed now. To heal and not aggravate his wounds by moving around. His advanced abilities would help him during the night, and he would be almost as good as new in the morning. A flick of his wand extinguished the lights, and Harry settled down to sleep.

Morning arrived swiftly, and Harry was awake the minute the weak sun was peeking through the thin curtains. Groaning, he stood and stretched out before setting his bed back to its original form. Turning towards his son, Harry gently changed the bandages and gave Teddy a good wash, taking great care whilst doing his hair, he then dressed his son in a pair of thin jogging bottoms and a blue tee, it was cool here in the mornings, but he knew it would soon get hotter than both he and Teddy were accustomed too, even after nearly a month in the Americas. Glancing at the old-fashioned clock that was in the centre of the wooden mantlepiece, Harry noticed that it was seven am, which meant he had only been asleep around six hours or so. Groaning, Harry decided that he would make breakfast for the Greene family, to thank them for their amazing work in helping him help his son and for their kindness and hospitality towards them both. He realised it was a slightly strange gesture, considering he was having to use their ingredients, but he hoped his message was conveyed.

Looking in the fridge, Harry quickly cooked up some eggs, bacon and pancakes, he set the kettle to boil on the stove and set out a small pitcher of orange juice as well. Beth and Patricia, both of whom he had met yesterday walked in around past seven chatting lightly but soon stopped and looked in shock at the current amount of food already on the table and at the man already in the kitchen.

"What's all this?" Patricia asked finally, eyes wide taking in the table.

"It's just a thank you, I realise it's not much of one, mostly because it's your food, but I just wanted to do something to repay you for all your help yesterday" Harry said

"Well at least you're appreciative" Beth snorted before ducking the hand that was swung towards her by Patricia.

"Bethany Anne Greene!"

"It's true Auntie!" Beth defended

"What's true?" Hershel asked walking into the kitchen accompanied by whom Harry could only assume was Maggie since her and Jimmy were the only two people he hadn't yet met "And what's all this" He gestured at the table

"Breakfast" Maggie said cheekily from where she was lounging in the doorframe, she looked at Harry and introduced herself officially "Maggie Greene, how's your boy?"

"Harry Potter, and he's okay for the moment, I'll know more when he wakes up" Harry shrugged looking towards the dining room.

They both tuned back in to what was being discussed between Hershel and Beth

"I'm just saying that at least Harry was willing to say thank you and provide a nice gesture! The others haven't even bothered yet" Beth said, "Not that I think we shouldn't have helped!" She amended quickly seeing her fathers raised eyebrow, "But you have to admit that Harry has been here a night and has already shown more appreciation towards us and he saved that little girl they all were saying was dead! But none of them have actually said Thank you to us"

"Rick did" Hershel reminded Beth

"Yeah" Maggie scoffed "But did his banshee of a wife? Or did she just try barge her way into our home?"

Hershel sighed, "No she didn't, she just tried to bully her way into the house, saying she needed to be near her son, he was too poorly to be alone, it wasn't fair I let Harry stay and some other such nonsense"

"Typical" Beth rolled her eyes

"It sounds like she's pregnant too" Maggie remarked "But I bet you anything it ain't her husbands"

"WHAT?!" The kitchen exclaimed in unison. How cold did someone have to be to cheat on their husband during the middle of an apocalypse AND be foolish enough to get pregnant from it. Subjecting an innocent baby to this life, was the definition of bad parenting.

"Really?" Harry asked intrigued, years of living in Hogwarts had made it so Harry never could resist gossip, as long as it wasn't about him, he had heard a lot of gossip and he had learned the effectiveness of it and usefulness of gossip.

"Yeah, from what I understand from Glenn, Shane and Lori have been at it like rabbits since they got to the quarry. Shane told Lori that he had checked on Rick and that he was lying dead in the hospital in their hometown, and so they started their own little affair. Anyway, Glenn finds Rick in Atlanta and takes him back to the Quarry, and everything's been a mess since. Shane's slowly losing his mind, Lori's publicly rejected him, Rick's losing grip on the group, and if she is already throwing up, or she thinks she's pregnant, then she has to be a lot farther on than the two whole weeks Rick has been back" Maggie shrugged

"Well I'll be damned" Hershel muttered

Whilst the family in the kitchen digested that bit of news and were just settling down to enjoy the breakfast that Harry cooked for them, a sudden cry from the front room had Harry bolting up and running into the Greene's formal dining room. For there, sitting on the table, was a young boy sitting up and crying for his father.

* * *

And there is chapter 5, chapter 6 is handwritten just need to type it up but hopefully I'll have it out soon!

Thank you all for reading

Crossfire.x


	6. Awakening

Wow, my lord guys I am so sorry. It's been a very mad few months. I got into university again! 4 years from now I'll be a nurse so thats the major bit of news as to why I haven't uploaded anything.

Thank you all for being so patient. Here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy

* * *

"Ted" Harry whispered, choked up at the sight of his whole and alive son in front of him. After the horror of yesterday afternoon, he counted this as one of the best moments of his life.

"Dad!" Teddy cried relieved to see a familiar face "What happened to me?"

"When we got to the farm and Sophia's group saw us, they thought we were Undead for some reason, a very overly ambitious blonde with a point to prove shot you" Harry admitted

"Hmm" Teddy mumbled "How bad was it?"

"Pretty bad, the bullet shattered underneath your skin and then I accidentally made it worse putting bandages straight on your head instead of properly inspecting it, so a shard was dangerously close to penetrating fully through your skull, for a while I was worried I wouldn't be able to get it out or that I'd have to leave it there and risk you getting brain damaged. But, I got it, barely, and it didn't fracture further so hopefully apart from a pretty major headache, you should be okay"

"I do have a headache, and my eyesight is a little blurry on the left-hand side, but otherwise I think I'm okay"

"Okay, I have a potion for the headache and hopefully the blurriness will ease as you heal, but let me just…" And Harry was now in full Healer mode, having Teddy recite the alphabet, doing other small memory games, word association and anything else he could think of to test Teddy's current mental abilities, after he had thrown back a headache potion, and completed a full eye exam.

"So, your brain processing skills, memory and general function is all excellent as usual" Harry said "I see the problem with your eyesight as well, it's possible a fragment rested too close to your optical nerve, its minimal damage at the moment so I am hoping the advanced healing you have will have fixed that by the end of the day, if not, it just means glasses whilst it's fixed up" Harry said

"So… I really am okay?" Teddy asked unsurely

"Yeah Ted, you're really okay, there is food in the kitchen if you want some" Harry smiled

"Fooooood" Teddy cheered as he jumped off the table and ran in the direction his nose was taking him.

Following his small son into the Greens smaller dining room, Harry couldn't help but laugh at the current fussing over Teddy was getting. Patricia and Beth were both simultaneously petting at him and asking questions, Maggie was fixing him up a plate of food, and whilst Harry could tell Teddy appreciated the food, he did not appreciate the fuss.

Maggie loaded Teddys plate with Pancakes, sausage and scrambled egg at his request, then gave him a large glass of orange juice, he heartily tucked in whilst the rest of the Greene family asked him questions about England, he answered politely as he had always been taught and Harry could tell that Teddy was getting into the hearts of the women in the Greene family.

"How much did you tell him?" Hershel enquired having come to stand next to Harry.

"Everything" Harry shrugged, "I don't keep secrets, not from him, and even if I did they definitely wouldn't be anything regarding his own health, he has the right to know no matter how young people perceive him to be" He finished vehemently

Hershel looked at Harry, a small calculating gleam in his eyes, "I see, secrets like that have been kept from you then" He concluded

"Yes" Harry admitted.

"Secrets that have been detrimental to you?" Hershel enquired

"Yes, but it's also so much more than that, I was raised by my muggle Aunt and Uncle, they hated magic, they hated my parents, they hated me. My Aunt, she was my mums sister, the only living relative she had left, and I was left there when my parents were murdered. She was jealous of my Mother for having found her place in our world, she wanted so badly as a child to be a part of the Wizarding World, but with no magic she couldn't; and so the jealousy came, the hurtful names, when my grandparents died my Aunt blamed my mother for not being able to save them. So they raised me, and from the time I could understand it I was told my parents were drunks who died in a car crash, who were jobless lazy people who got themselves killed and left them, the good honest hardworking people that they were, to take me in. They put me in a cupboard under the stairs, where I stayed until I was eleven and the letters for school started coming"

Hershel looked appalled enough at the information Harry had just shared but Harry continued

"They had four bedrooms you know, one for them, one for Dudley their son, a guest room for when Uncles sister would stay, and a spare bedroom for Dudley's broken and unwanted toys, they moved me into that room when the letters came, they were concerned they were being watched, and then I went to school and found out everything. The headmaster of my school was incredibly interested in my life, he tried to dictate every move I made, he kept a lot of information to his self that I could have really used to stay alive, to make more informed decisions. So I promised myself, that if I ever had kids, I would never deliberately lie to them about anything like that, in fact I think the only thing I've ever lied about is Santa" Harry finished laughing.

"But, I don't understand, why would the headmaster of your school get so heavily involved in your life? Surely it's a conflict of interest?" Hershel questioned.

"He was the leader of the light and I was the poster boy" Harry shrugged, "There was a lot he could have told me, a lot he should have told me from the minute I re-entered the wizarding world, his favourite excuse was that he wanted me to have a normal childhood. I bought that excuse, he was so manipulative when he was alive that you would never doubt him, unless of course, you got on the wrong side of him. He left me a mission when he died, a way to kill Voldemort, what he didn't tell me was that I would literally have to die in the process" Harry spat.

"Die?!" Hershel whispered, aware of the potential audience "Why would you have to die, clearly you didn't or you wouldn't be here now"

"Oh but I did, I died and I came back, he never thought about that one, he tested me throughout all of my formative years, making sure I could overcome challenges, each harder than the last, six of my teachers tried to kill me throughout this as well, the whole school turned on me a few times, I was abused at home and at school and nothing was ever done. My whole life was basically a massive test for him, to make sure I'd live long enough to kill Voldemort. I finally got the whole truth out of him after the war. The goblins were extremely helpful in that area"

"That, sounds awful and confusing and just horrendous, how are you sane?" Hershel asked

"Yep and because I'm amazing" Harry helpfully supplied laughing.

"Clearly" Hershel smirked.

Laughing, they both turned to the conversation around the table, Teddy was exaggerating his part in the saving of Sophia and the girls were all cooing at him.

"So there she was with four walkers surrounding her, I jumped up into a tree and threw my knife at three of them whilst Dad got the last one after he got Sophia to safety" Teddy boasted puffing his chest out, the remains of his meal sat in front of him

Harry walked over to the table laughing, "You sure that's how it happened kiddo?"

"Yeah totally" Teddy nodded enthusiastically

"Somehow I don't think your dad would let you be in that much danger" Maggie said looking highly amused.

"Okay so maybe not exactly like that, but I really did get one didn't I Dad?" Teddy looked at Harry with wide pleading eyes, begging him to confirm the story

"He really did get one, then he got shot for his troubles" Harry sighed

"Dad, am I allowed out to see Sophia today?" Teddy asked

"Sure bud, but when you do, I want to go with, I don't trust that Shane character. There is something about him that isn't… right"

Maggie snorted "Tell me about it"

"Why what's wrong with the guy?" Teddy asked confused

"He seems to be of the opinion I'm a danger to his group, and also that I'm not your real father" Harry shrugged, "Also, I did have a massive go at the group yesterday when they said I was the danger, called them all out on their bullshit. Somehow I don't really think he'll appreciate what I said and he seems like the type of guy to take it out on anyone he can, which makes me worried for you"

"He is" Maggie confirmed, "Just yesterday I saw him threatening Dale out by the barn, he was really up in his face, he had a gun in his hand and Dale looked terrified. I really think he's a dangerous guy"

"Speaking of the barn" Hershel said, seeing the perfect opportunity to bring it up "I think it's time we put everyone in there to peace"

Beth and Patricia started refusing straight away, Jimmy had just walked into the kitchen at the announcement but both him and Maggie were nodding, it seemed that maybe they had realised something that the other two hadn't.

"Dad we can't!" Beth cried "Mom's in there! And Sam, we can't just kill them, you can't do that you don't get to make that decision"

"I agree! You can't just end someone else's life because of a disease, this isn't the dark ages anymore" Patricia snapped.

"It's not a disease!" Jimmy snapped, he sighed before moving towards Patricia "Mom these people are more than sick, they're dead, this isn't the dark ages, but we can't just do nothing and keep putting them in the barn, what happens when there's too many? Whatever happened at the school, Shane was telling the truth about one thing, they swarm, and they don't stop. They will not stop because they can't. I think we need to do the right thing and at least help them to move forward, because all they're doing in the barn is rotting" he finished, kneeling in front of the crying woman holding her hands tightly.

"But your father…"

"Dad is gone, most likely dead, most probably murdered. It's understandable to think about what he'd say, but he isn't here anymore, and honestly, the one we had to convince was Uncle Hershel" Jimmy replied.

"But, but my Mom is in there!" Beth cried "My brother, our family is in there and you want to kill them?!"

"No" Hershel denied, "Of course I don't want too, of course I want to believe that everyone in there can soon be saved, but this, Bethany we can't stop this, we can only make sure that your mother doesn't rot away in a barn for the rest of her existence. We can give her that kindness"

Beth sobbed before throwing herself into her fathers arms. Hershel looked over her head and Harry, a questioning glance in his eyes and Harry recognised it for what it was, a plea for help, as strong as Hershel was, he couldn't kill his wife and son, and so Harry nodded, he would not let his new friend go through this alone, he just wasn't that sort of person.

"Maggie? Are you okay with this?" Hershel asked his head turning to look at his oldest daughter

"Yes, I was never okay with keeping them in the barn to be honest dad, and ever since the group got here and I was out on the fields with them looking for the reason the well had stopped working I saw them for what they truly were. I love Mom, I love Sam, but this isn't anything I would have ever wished for anyone, they deserve peace" Maggie answered conviction strong in her tone.

Hershel looked proud, and Harry could tell that he was truly blessed to have such a close-knit family who talked about everything with each other.

"Anyway, I'm going on a run into town today with Glenn, anyone need anything picking up?"

Hershel, Harry and Teddy all said no, Jimmy asked for a comic if they came across one but not to go out of the way and Beth and Patricia pulled Maggie aside to request some personal items.

"Dad can we go see Sophia now?" Teddy begged, having finished all his breakfast and definitely seeming even better than when he woke up Harry finally acquiesced and told him to get his shoes and a jacket just in case.

"Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off outside I go" Teddy sang as he ran passed and out the front door, Harry following closely behind.

* * *

And there we gooooo. Please don't I do not own Disney, so don't sue me, I'm in student loan debt as it is xD

See you soon!

Crossfire.


	7. Secrets

*Cautiously peeks out* Hi guys! I'm finally back. Lockdown has been useful for one thing I guess. I'm sorry for the long reply, Uni, work, Covid its all been happening since September and I got behind on everything.

* * *

"TEDDY" was all either of the two males heard before a tall blonde blur slammed into the younger and sent him almost flying off the porch.

"Sophiaaaaa" Teddy groaned before laughing and hugging the figure back.

"You're okay! I mean your Dad said you were but now I can see you and oh lord I'm glad you're okay!" Sophia chattered "I'm so sorry about Andrea!"

"Why are you sorry? You didn't shoot me" Teddy said

"Well… I mean I know but... It was still my fault; I mean I brought you back here. I put you in harms way"

"No Sophia" Harry interjected "It wasn't your fault at all, we brought you back to your Mom and unfortunately some people don't understand when to listen to leadership, and people get hurt".

"Okay Mr. Harry, if you're sure though, I hope you forgive me anyway Teddy? I never wished for you to get hurt"

"Don't worry about it, already forgiven, whoever shot me though? That fucker is in for it" Teddy growled

"Teddy, language kid, Merlin knows these lot just need another excuse to have a go at me" Harry rolled his eyes.

Teddy and Sophia both stifled a laugh.

"C'mon Teddy, come meet my Mom" Sophia said tugging suddenly at both men's arms.

"Wait, is Dad allowed over to your camp? He said he yelled at them all" Teddy laughed "I wish I'd seen it to be honest, Dad's the best at yelling at stupid people"

"It was amazing Teddy! He listened to everything I said on the way through the forest and used it all against them! They didn't know where to look after he was through, everyone's started making changes already though, all except Shane who's fully decided he was right about Mr. Harry having you with him Teddy"

"What do you mean 'decided he's right'?"

"He thinks I have you with me for 'Nefarious Purposes'" Harry said making air quotations with his fingers and rolling his eyes. "I assume he's decided because I argued against him and stormed off that I must be guilty"

"Pretty much, your Dad completely let them have it Teddy. Told them all that the group was going to get themselves killed and that he wouldn't need to do anything. Shane said the group needed protecting from your Dad, so he highlighted more of their bullshit, completely brilliant! Of course, Lori didn't think so"

"Who's Lori?" Teddy asked

"Ricks wife" Sophia replied, "Not that she's much of one to him"

"Well Ms Sophia, that's not nice" Harry laughed, "Where's the nice, polite girl gone I saved yesterday?" He asked teasingly.

"To be honest Mr. Harry, I don't think Shane and Rick deserve politeness, Lori definitely doesn't" She shrugged "You and Mr. Dale do, you're both good men, respectable men, and you've both done a lot for me and my Mom. Shane is a horrible bully, and what I've heard and witnessed since coming back yesterday only tells me that that assessment is beyond the right one. As for Rick, it's strange, I know in my head it's not entirely his fault I got lost, but I can't help but blame him a little for leaving me alone, and the way he just lets Shane and Lori walk all over him is so bad when he's a sheriff, and the people here, they look to him as a leader, but all he's done really is make mistakes, especially since the CDC incident, it's like he's given up on himself so he's letting other people dictate and then he has to act like he's made the decisions, which clearly, I mean, whoever put Andrea on watch needs shooting themselves, she's not been in a good place since Amy died" Sophia trailed off going silent for a few seconds before continuing. "And Lori, well, can't be much of a wife to someone if you're pregnant with another man's child" Sophia finished with a finality that Harry and Teddy were beginning to recognise from her.

"Wait, Maggie was talking about that this morning" Teddy said, "About how if she had an inkling or is having morning sickness then she has to be further along than the two weeks Rick has been back"

Harry noticed Sophia had gone silent as they walked past the small grove of trees near the driveway to the house, she seemed hesitant, like she wanted to share something but didn't want to get in trouble.

"Sophia, if something is bothering you, believe me when I say it's easier to speak about it rather than let it fester" Harry consoled the distraught looking girl.

"Okay, but I want it known beforehand I'm not a sneak or anything, I really didn't mean to listen in but I was walking in the woods near the old campsite, I was looking for a place to practise my magic, my wand was with me because I was going to practise that cutting curse 'Diffindo' I wasn't sure how powerful it could be, whether it could chop off a walkers head in you were in a tough situation, so I was aiming to go and get it right figured if I practised on trees then I could at least take the branches back for the campfire; but I was distracted by other branches breaking in the area and I thought Walkers were coming so I climbed into the trees, it was Lori and Shane and they were in a pretty heated argument arguing about Carl but then Shane kissed Lori and clothes came off… to be honest I didn't come down from the tree I didn't want to get caught, but then Lori started saying these things, horrible things about Rick and I just couldn't believe that someone could be so heartless I wanted to use a silencing spell but I didn't know any so I had to listen, she was going on about how she was glad they could be together now Rick was gone, she said Shane would always come first now that they were free, then Shane caught sight of a necklace Lori had on, got angry and ripped it off and threw it away. Lori just laughed, and then, well you know…" Sophia finally trailed off mumbling

"They kept having sex?" Teddy guessed

"Yeah, but anyway, it's part of the reason I don't like Lori, the necklace, I went and got it when they'd finished, it was three rings and a small frame. It was hers and Ricks wedding rings, and a small picture of Rick and Carl, but she never came back for them, I know she didn't because I still have the necklace, and I know that baby isn't Rick's because Lori won't go near him, oh she plays a good game and acts loved up, but I've seen it for years in my parents, believe me, she can't stand the fact he's back, and her and Shane are still meeting up, god knows where but they are, I saw them whilst doing my chores this morning"

"Oh, really now?" A new voice grumbled behind them.

Spinning around Harry drew his knife quickly and moved the kids behind his back in one move. He relaxed slightly when he saw it was Rick, but tensed again at the sight of someone new at the side of him.

"Woah, easy, we're not going to do anything to you" Rick placated holding his hands out

"Sorry" Harry said

"Yeah, new guys and all, someone's already shot me" Teddy piped up

"And there seems to be some people in the Camp who have it out for me too" Harry laughed.

"Guys!" Sophia interjected, "Really not the time for jokes" she huffed

"But it's better than being miserable" Harry pointed out

"Oh yes because having Zombie's as well as people out to get you is obviously what everyone needs right now, having the time of my life lately Dad" Teddy shot back sarcastically

Harry frowned at Teddy before dramatically pointing and saying "You're grounded"

"You can't do that" Teddy pretested

"Can too"

"Cannot!"

"Erm, who is the parent here exactly?" Harry pondered "Oh yeah, me! So, hah!" Harry stuck his tongue out at his son.

"Guys?" A giggle broke out and Teddy and Harry threw a quick smirk at each other before turning their attention to the three others who looked highly amused.

"You two always like this" Rick asked chuckling

"More or less" They shrugged

"I came over here to thank you" Rick said looking Harry in the eyes so he showed he meant it.

"Thank me?" Harry asked bewildered "For what?"

"For a huge kick in the backside to be quite honest" Rick replied sheepishly rubbing his hand over the hair at the back of his head "You were right, this group is going to get themselves killed soon, and it will be our own faults. A few are starting training today though; we need them all up to scratch to survive. Glenn is on a run now, Maggie said something about an Ammunitions store in town, would you like to join us?"

"Will Shane be there?" Harry asked sharply "Because, no offence, I'm not putting myself or my son around him if he'll have weapons"

"No, he said he couldn't be bothered babying a bunch of rookies at something they'll learn eventually without the training. Lori won't be there either because 'she has no need to learn, she'll always be protected' I thought at first she just trusted me, but I guess I know the real reason now" Rick trailed off looking back to the house "She also mentioned something about Carl being alone in that house, 'imagine him waking up and he's all alone, we can't do that to him, he hasn't woken up yet and I'm scared he won't' which I do agree with, but I can't believe she was lying" Rick shook his head

"Wait, she didn't tell you?" Harry asked

"Tell me what?"

"Carl woke up last night, it wasn't for long, about 5 minutes, he had some water and Hershel checked him over again after she kicked me out of the room"

"She… she kicked you out?" Rick asked "What the hell for? You told us you're a doctor, why would she do that?"

"Well, Hershel asked me to look at him, I believe the exact words were 'I'm a vet not a doctor, and have you seen the size of a cows stomach?' He did a great job by the way" Harry said looking at Rick "Carl will be absolutely fine. She came in just as I was finishing up, pitched a fit at Hershel and accused me of being a paedophile all in 30 seconds, apparently because Shane said it, it must be true" Harry said sarcastically.

Both Teddy and Sophia suddenly took a step back at the amount of fury that covered Ricks face. First from being told his son had woken up and he hadn't been told, and second that his wife had insulted and refused help from an actual doctor! Not that he didn't appreciate Hershel's help, but like he said to Harry, he's a vet! What if he had actually missed something? What if Carl had needed further treatment?

"Rick" the stranger snapped "Pull yourself together, there's no point being angry now, you know the truth now, and clearly this guy will help if Carl goes downhill again. Start being rational"

Silence reigned for a moment whilst Rick forced himself to calm down.

"Rick" Sophia said uncertainly

"Yes Sophia?" Rick replied kindly

"How… how much of our conversation did you hear?" Sophia looked nervous, overly so, a small blush started covering her cheeks at the thought of the things she had said.

Both Harry and the stranger gave Rick hard looks over Sophia's head, warning him silently not to lose it at Sophia or there would be hell to pay.

"From when you said Lori was saying she was glad she could be with Shane now, it's okay Sophia" Rick reassured the young girl at the sudden look of horror on her face. "I would also like to apologise for leaving you alone in the woods, I shouldn't have, and that was an almost grave mistake on my part, I'm guessing with the dropping of the 'Mister' in front of my name that you blame me a lot, and that's okay. I've made a lot of mistakes since the CDC and they've all had something bad happen to an innocent person. I must admit I was embarrassed about being wrong and truthfully Lori and Shane were not willing to let it go, after you went missing the looks and comments got worse so I let them call the shots so they can know how it feels, however it's clearly a power trip to them, and then, Carl got shot and that was my fault despite Lori giving the final say, I guess it makes sense now though, she blames me because she hates me. She's shagging Shane to get back at me for some perceived wrong, if I know her like I thought I did then shes not doing it because she loves him but because it'll hurt me. So, after last night's lecture" Here he winked at Harry who laughed "I'm going to step back up, this group is a priority like no other because we need everyone to survive. Things with Lori and Shane, well they can just play out, fuck them, but if she is pregnant Sophia's right, it's definitely not mine so Shane can have her, she how he deals with her full time, I've done everything I could over the years to please her and it's ending like this" Rick sighed

"Rick, it's not your fault" The stranger consoled.

"I know Daryl I know"

"Rick, Sophia isn't the first person who's said that baby isn't yours, forgive her, but Maggie said Lori had asked her to grab her some tests and pills from town, so Lori knows definitively one way or another, however, I'm about to trust you both with a secret of mine, and I know you'll see the advantages of it" Harry said seriously.

And so, Harry told Rick and Daryl about himself, his world, the war, the years of training and suffering he endured, the training for both his jobs, everything he was and could do was laid out, including how he was Teddy's father in all but blood after his parents died in the war. Rick looked slightly disbelieving, but Daryl was nodding along which Sophia noticed.

"Daryl, you don't seem surprised?" Sophia said

"Because I'm not" Daryl shrugged, "I'm not magical" He continued at the looks from Harry "But some of my family are, or were rather, at one point anyway" Daryl said.

"At one point?" Teddy asked before Harry could scold him for such a personal question, Daryl shrugged it off and just said "There was apparently a curse, we're basically squibs, locked away from our own magic but still able to interact with anything else that's magical like the animals and potions and things"

"But, but that can send people crazy!" Teddy cried

"It can if you let it, I just accepted my lot in life"

Harry looked at Daryl approvingly before turning back to Rick, "One of the reasons I'm telling you Rick, is because I can perform a small charm on Lori, with or without her knowing, so you have evidence you can use, also there's the small matter of protective wards and charms I can do to help you and everyone else"

"That all sounds wonderful Harry, but I'm not sure Hershel will be accommodating to magic on his premises" Rick sighed

"Hershel already knows" Harry replied easily

Rick looked dumbfounded at that piece of information and Harry laughed, he supposed that since Hershel was a clearly devout Christian that anyone would think he wouldn't react well to any form of magic whatsoever.

"It shocked me too, turns out he has a magical cousin, that's why he could accept it so easily, but knowing something like that your whole life I guess you get time to come to terms with it. I will warn you now though Rick he really isn't happy with either Lori or Shane being here at all, not to mention the fact he thinks Shane killed Otis in cold blood, at the moment he wants the whole lot of you out of here, especially after Andrea shot Teddy after he said no guns, so you need to speak to him soon to clear things up.

"He thinks Shane killed Otis? But why? Shane told us what happened" Rick exclaimed

Daryl snorted "Rick I'm sorry, but you are about the only person that believes that story, it's too perfect, too convenient"

"Convenient?! What's convenient about death?" Rick spluttered.

"Yes, Rick, convenient, I mean, he comes back with Otis' gun and pack! A story about how Otis sacrificed himself to the walkers so he could get away, I'd understand handing the pack over but not the gun, he could survive for a time without it. It also doesn't explain the chunk of hair missing, or the fact the small scratch in the wound has healed and he hasn't turned, means it was human not Walker that scratched him! Also, Rick, you said Otis kept up with you and Shane throughout the whole run back to here after Carl went down despite him being a bigger guy, do you really believe that Otis just slowed Shane down? Because I'm telling you now, I don't, especially not with the way he's been acting since he came back. He was too calm, cop or not no one is that calm talking about watching someone go to their deaths"

"So, who doesn't believe it?" Harry asked

"Me, Dale, T-Dog, Glenn, Carol, clearly all the Green family, Andrea is on the fence but mostly because I think she want's to fuck Shane" Daryl said.

Rick opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a large commotion by the tents that made all five of them run over to see if someone needed help.

"Here's your magazines, your lotions, your clean underwear! The next time you want Glenn to be your fucking errand boy don't bother even asking! I'm pretty sure he's through listening to your orders!" Maggie snarled looking at Lori with pure disgust on her face with Glenn stood as silent support next to her. "Oh" Maggie continued her voice going dangerously low as she reached into the bag for something else "Here's your abortion pills. Funny how you knew exactly which ones to ask for. Makes me wonder just how many times you've used them before" Maggie spat on the ground in front of Lori and stormed off, visibly shaking with rage.

"Are you just going to let your bitch talk to me like that?" Lori screamed red faced.

"Yeah, yeah I am and you know why? Because shes fucking right! I'm tired of running around into dangerous situations without proper back up! We almost got bit today, we were swarmed whilst out on a run specifically for you! To get you the 'home comforts' you claim you so deserved because Rick is your husband and your fuck buddy and baby daddy is the deputy! Well news flash princess, you're not any more special than the rest of us. Don't call Maggie a bitch just because she has the balls to call you out on your shit"

Glenn turned and jogged away from Lori, to where Maggie was standing by a fence leading into the cows pasture, their hands entwines and they were off. Meanwhile Lori has started raging and screaming, kicking hers and others things around the campsite. Rick made to move towards her when he was grabbed suddenly by Harry and dragged behind Dales RV as Shane came out of nowhere and embraced Lori from behind, his hands automatically splaying protectively over Lori's stomach. The sight made all the muscles in Rick's body clench as it took Daryl and Harry both to stop him storming over towards them.

"What's wrong babe, you know you can't be this stressed" Shane said already sucking lightly on Lori's neck.

"Didn't you hear what that skank and Glenn have just said to me?!" Lori snarled

"No, what did they say?" Shane growled out, a definite possessive note in his voice

"They said it was my fault they almost got bitten today, they're saying that because they supposedly went into town just for me! And Maggie, I asked for some tablets, to help with the morning sickness, and she accused me of trying to abort our baby! And she said that because I asked specifically for them that I must have used them before" Lori fake sobbed into Shane's arms, the act was good the three older gents would admit, but they could tell it was fake. But Shane bought it completely.

"That jumped up bitch! How dare she! The babies you've lost before this we're all natural, you can't control a miscarriage! How could she accuse you of all people of something like that?!" Shane was good at a lot of things, but holding anger didn't appear to be one of them, he was nearly foaming at the mouth and his eyes were starting to bulge.

Lori sighed, snuggling further into Shane's arms so he couldn't see she wasn't actually crying "we've been together nearly five years Shane, there's nothing I want more than to give you a child, I'm so sorry for all the miscarriages, but I'm so happy you believe me, I couldn't bear it if you believed her lies"

"Lori of course I believe you! But I must admit I am getting sick of hiding my love for you, when can we be in the open?"

"Shane you know this! I can't keep going through it, you have to kill Rick then we can be how we were at the Quarry again" Lori snapped

"Why does it have to be me? He's my best friend, and you're closer to him anyway and you're the one that's hated him since Carl was born"

"Some best friend you are" Lori snorted "You're sleeping with his wife, and have been for a long time, not to mention the times you've stolen evidence to fuck with his cases, or the time you beat the shit out of him on a stake out and then blamed some poor guy who's now in jail. Grow some balls Shane, you had no problem killing Otis for hurting Carl, this is exactly the same" Lori said with finality.

* * *

And there we goooooo, longest chapter yet, which isn't saying much really hah! Next chapter is in progress. I should hopefully have it up soon.

Crossfire.


End file.
